Crater with dune field close to the Aonia Tholus volcano
Crater with dune field close to the Aonia Tholus volcano
Operated by DLR on board Mars Express, the HRSC takes simultaneous images in high resolution, 3D and with four colour filters in the visible light for the colours blue, green and red, as well as in near-infrared wavelengths. This highly contrasted, true-colour image created by the nadir channel, which is directed vertically at the surface of Mars, and the colour channels clearly shows the material differences in the otherwise somewhat monochrome surface of Mars. The dark dune field inside the 48-kilometre impact crater (on the left) is particularly striking. The crater is not far from the volcano Aonia Tholus. Earlier volcanic activity on Mars produced vast quantities of fine-grained ash, which was covered by other rocky materials over time. Impact craters exposed these concealed layers – which are therefore seen as the probable source of the dark dunes. North is on the right of the image.
